A Place to Call Home: OneShot 2
by horseluvr00
Summary: When a chance arises for Kate to get some extra bonding time with her adopted father, she's hesitant to go along. Not wanting to burden Steve, Kate tries not to get in the way of what she thinks really matters to him- being an Captain America. With help from her friends and family, will Kate realize that being family isn't something defined by blood? Lots of cute bonding stuff! :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **Based around my story A Place to Call Home, this one shot takes place between the first one and the sequel. :) If you haven't read the actually story I really encourage you to do so. This won't make much sense if you don't. I know it's a lot to read just to read this one shot but I promise you won't be disappointed… Or- at least I hope you won't be disappointed. XD**

 **If you have read A Place to Call Home, then I hope you enjoy this one shot! Again- this takes place between the first one and the sequel. First chapter here might be slow but I will try to update it as soon as possible :)**

I ran down the stairwell and onto the communal floor. Heading for the kitchen counter I grabbed my jacket and hurried to the cupboard to grab breakfast.

"Kate, hurry up" I glanced over and saw Dad pop out his head out of the elevator in his stealth suit. "14 minutes, let's go!" He smirked.

"Mmaurdphmb" I mumble as I was holding a pop tart in my mouth, seeing the weird look he gave me.

"I'm sorry, was that English?" He chuckled as I was hopping towards the elevator as I pulled my shoe on. I pulled the shoe on and grabbed the pop tart.

"Sort of, how come we're leaving so early this morning" He was pulling his gloves on before he lifted his foot to tighten his combat boot.

"Fury wants us working with new recruits" He says, causing me to groan and let myself fall back against the elevator wall. I saw him smirk before he stood up straight and sighed.

"I'm just excited as you are" I saw him look down at me before he looked back at the door.

I kept making a pop noise with my lips as the elevator kept going down.

"Did you finish your mission report from New Jersey-?"

"Yeah Dad" I rolled my eyes. "You asked me that twice yesterday" I look at him as the door opened and we walked out of the elevator and walked towards the doors before walking outside onto the roof.

"Well I feel a need to remind you, since last time Fury put you on desk duty when you 'forgot' to do it" He sent me a quick look as we walked into the quinjet.

"I did though!" I argue, throwing a hand in the air. "...mostly" I mumble at the end. I saw him send me another look as we walked to the front and the ramp came up.

Seconds later it took off and we headed towards the Helicarrier.

~0~

Several hours on the Carrier had gone by and I was studying for a mission assessment that was coming up at the end of this week.

Some junior agents and I had to take these monthly tests and I hated studying for them.

Why do this when I could be out in the field solving problems instead of taking tests on how to solve said problems? It's a waste of time.

I had gotten into my suit when I got here. You never know when you might be needed so it's always good to be prepared.

"How's it going?" I looked over my shoulder as Clint walked over.

"Eh" I mumbled.

"I had a feeling" I heard him laugh before he leaned over to my left and look at the computer screen. "Test is Saturday right?"

"Yeah, and I can't wait" The sarcasm was clear in my laugh and his smirk widened.

"I'd go over some of the weapons and tactical stuff too. Sometimes they surprise you with those" He says before pushing off the table and walked around to the computer opposite of me.

"Alright" I clicked on a few file notes and started to read a bit. He sat down across from my and I could hear him typing.

"Did Steve give you your packet of reports?"

My head shot up.

"Excuse me? Report _ **s**_? With an _S_?!"

"Yeah" He laughed. "You forgot to file the last few from the mission you went on with him. Those out of country missions require a lot of paper work to be filled out"

"No! Dad didn't even tell me!" I blurt out and Clint started laughing.

"Sucks to be you" He sighed and got up with a grin. "Have fun with those" He patted me on the shoulder before walking out. I let my face fall into my hands and groaned.

Thanks a lot Dad. Real nice job.

I quickly got paper copies of all the reports I had to write- including the ones Dad failed to mention and walked for the door.

It took a few minutes but I got down to the training gyms and went to Gym C.

I saw Dad chewing out another recruit as I walked over. Yeah- he's pretty hard on them surprisingly.

"Dad" I start; walking over.

"What Kate?" He didn't even look at me as his attention was directly on an Agent. I recognized him immediately. Jason Barrington. One of the Agents that thought it was funny as hell to pick on me at SHIELD. Something told me Dad knew he was involved in the whole bullying thing with me because almost anytime I saw him in the same room as my Dad he was either chewing him out or making him work twice as hard. It was funny as hell to watch I'll say that right now. "Drop and give me 40" He ordered. Jason rolled his eyes and glared at me. I glared right back as he walked over to the mats on the other side of the gym and got down and started doing pushups. "Rest of you- partner 2 start doing laps, Partner 1 get on the mats" He calls. The new recruits started to split up and follow the orders given to them.

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled under his breath.

"That rhymes" I whisper with a grin. I see him lower his hand and roll his eyes before he looked over at me.

"I've been waiting for you for almost an hour, where've you been?" He mumbled and took the stack of files I was holding. He started to flip through it.

"Oh you know- just working my ass off to finish up the reports due tomorrow from the France mission" I give a sarcastic smile. I saw him freeze and he let the stack fall back down before he looked at me with wide eyes. He didn't even seem to notice I said a bad word. Yeah- You know how he gets with those.

"Oh my god I completely forgot" He breathed. "Honey, I am so sorry. I'll tell Fury to extend their due date" He says quickly but stopped as I started laughing.

"It's fine, I'll have Natasha help me" I shrug. "Clint actually reminded me so thank him" He nodded before looking down at the stack of files before he handed it back to me.

"I need a hand with some of the recruits over on the mats, think you can give them a hand?" He asked; looking down at me. I hesitated to answer and looked down. I could feel his eyes on me as he waited for a response.

"Kate..."

"I think Maria needed some help on the bridge" I smile and turn but he easily grabbed my arm and stopped me from leaving.

"C'mon, I know this isn't your favorite thing in the world. But I really could use the help here" He says. I let out a huff and nod. "We talked about this" He says; looking down a bit farther with a smile so I would look at him.

"Yeah I know" I mumble.

"You have more heart and skill than anyone in this room. If there's anyone they should be taking tips from its you" I could hear the friendly amusement in his voice but I just gave a small smile and a nod.

"K" I sigh.

"Thank you sweetheart" He smiled before giving me a quick side hug. "They'll most likely be short with you so you have my permission to snap at them or be physical" He gave me a nod and a smile before handed me the clipboard with their individual training notes and training session details.

"If you had lead with that I would already be over there" I grin and start walking towards the training mats. I caught him rolling his eyes as I made my way over to where the recruits are.

"Alright, get in line" I call, getting their attention as the all looked over at me. "Ok what have you been working on so far today?" I looked through the clip board Dad gave me.

"Blocking punches" One girl says.

"Well that's boring" I mumble, thankfully not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Let's work on blocking kicks then" I shrug before tossing the clip board aside. "Get in groups of two and do 4 rounds each of practice kicks. Don't full blown try to knock the teeth out of your partner please" I add. "If you think I'm escorting someone to the nurse you are sadly mistaken" I heard a few chuckles.

Within about a minute they all partnered up and got to work on practicing kick blocking. I occasionally walked around to overlook them and point out any flaws if necessary but otherwise they were alright. No one gave me a hard time either. Meaning I unfortunately didn't get to knock anyone on their ass for being a butthead.

About 15 more minutes went by before the session ended and the recruits left to get a transport back to the academy.

Dad walked over to me as I was picking up my mission reports and the clipboard.

"They do ok?"

"Yeah, they were alright. No one gave me a hard time so I didn't get the amusement I was looking for" I shrug. He smirks before nodding as I stuck my phone in my pocket.

"You up for a little training session or are you anxious to get home and work on those reports" He asked. I looked at him or a moment and then around the gym. No one was here besides a few other higher agents getting some gym time in between missions.

"Aren't you busy?"

"Does it look like I have anything to do?" He laughed. I looked him up and down for a moment.

"At the moment? Yes it looks like you're about to leave or do something of importance" I state. He rolls his eyes before taking his shield off his back, putting it down to the side of the mats before he backed up onto them.

"C'mon, I promised you I would teach you a few tricks" He says with a shrug.

"That was last week" I smirk. He didn't say anything for a moment before looking around.

"...yeah. But not the point. Chop chop I don't have all day" He smiled before backing up a few more steps. I finally put down my stack of papers and threw the clipboard on top before I took a few steps onto the mat. "Anything in particular?"

"Nah" I gave a quick shrug.

"Alright then, let's just do a quick round of disabling your opponent and then maybe later today I can have Natasha do a few rounds with you too" He says but I ended up groaning. He scrunched his nose in confusion and smirked. "What's wrong with that?"

"You always beat me!" I argue. "Not a fair game" I cross my arms. He laughs before nodding and stood up a bit straighter.

"I'll go easy on you" He laughs. I finally nod and get into a fighting stance. "But no ability" He adds quickly. I huff and just roll my eyes before nodding.

"You have to act like what I do actually hurt though" he laughed before nodding.

"Alright"

"But don't make it so easy to the point where I'm falling asleep"

"Can we start?" He deadpanned. I rolled my eyes before giving a nod, taking a few steps to the side.

Within seconds I dodged a kick and dropped before rolling to the left. Doing a kip up, I dodged a few punches before throwing a few of my own, finishing with a kick. I jumped out of the way of another kick, my back hitting the wall before i ducked a punch. Taking advantage of his brief exposed side I slid past him and kicked his legs out from under him- actually knocking him off his feet, which was a shock.

He quickly rolled over and got back up and blocked both kicks. I lost my balance just for a split second and didn't have time to block his punch as he stopped about 6 inches from my face.

"Damn it" I grumbled. Dad smirked before lowering his fist and helped me get back on my feet.

"Good job, I was surprised" He smiles. I roll my eyes.

"You went easy on me" I remind him before walking over to pick of the reports I left beside the mats.

"You managed to knock me off my feet so that's a really good start, I wasn't expecting that" He puts a hand on my shoulder as we walked towards the door.

"I feel like you're lying" I laugh.

"I'm not" He shrugs. "And I know you can tell when I'm lying so I've got nothing to hide" He smirks and looks down at me as we continued before walking out the door.

 **End of chapter one of this one shot! Yay! :D I think most of my one shots will naturally be more than one chapter- like little short stories in between. :) Please review if you liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Next chapter, hope you like it :) Next few will be up soon so make sure you don't lose your place where you're reading XD**

It had been a couple days. Dad was on the Helicarrier a lot. He was gone almost all day every day. Thankfully he let me tag along sometimes so I could get extra training time in, so it was pretty good. Fury seems to be bringing up the whole -move to DC- thing constantly now.

"So what are you doing Friday?" I asked before popping another Hershey kiss into my mouth. Sam's eyes were still locked on the TV before she looked over at me.

"Uh, don't know let me check my phone" She replied; picking up her iPhone that was sitting on the bed next to her.

I was hanging out at her house and probably just spending the night since Dad was still on the carrier and I had nothing better to do.

"If you wanna spend the night you can. Tony just got this massage chair that he got from some place in Japan or something-" I cut off as I popped a second Hershey kiss into my mouth. "-and it's amazing!" I end; getting serious.

Sam rolled her eyes and smirked before frowning.

"Aw, I wouldn't be able to until later that night" She said. I furrow my eyebrows; sitting criss-cross before turning to her.

"Why? What's goin on?" I ask; my eyes were kinda locked on the TV as we were watching The Big Bang Theory.

"My dad wants to take me to the Father-Daughter dance" She shrugs. I smile before looking over at her.

"Aw, that's cute" I reply. Her dad was in the Military so every year veterans of NYC would come to this with their daughters and such-... or something like that. It was usually for younger kids, but some of the veterans had been taking there daughters since they were little. So it turned into tradition. Most of them were teenagers now, those that traditionally do it that is.

"I could probably come after that though" Sam adds; looking at her phone.

"I'll have to ask my Dad if you can come over that late" I shrug. "I don't know if he'll be busy or not. SHIELD called him in again tonight to go over some stuff. Something about moving to DC again" I grumble with a shrug. We better not be moving to DC. That's honestly the last thing I need right now.

"Hey! You should have your dad take you. We could all go!" She seemed to almost squeal at the thought. I stared at her for a very long moment. I hesitated before chuckling; then making an abrupt stop.

"Nope!" I laugh and pop the P. "That wouldn't work" I smirk. No way in hell would he ever go to that... And neither would I.

"Why not?" She looked disappointed. I looked at her before giving another smirk.

"Busy" I reply; shrugging. She narrows her eyes and my smile dropped. "Don't give me that look, its weird-"

"You just asked if I could sleep over. Meaning that we'll stay up til 3am and sleep in til noon" She gives me a smart smile. I roll my eyes.

"Not me, him" I replied like it was obvious.

"What if he wasn't" She said back.

"Sam, I don't think this dance counts veterans from over 60 years ago" I chuckle.

"It's for all veterans, you idiot. That's not the issue, what the hell is keeping you from seeing this from my perspective." She whined. "And don't even mention the fact that you're adopted-!" She snapped. I narrowed my eyes.

"Damn it" I mumbled. She slapped me playfully upside the head. "Wha- ow" I give her a hurt look.

"I'm serious dude! You should come, I'm sure he'd love to" She says. I shrug; looking at the floor. But I don't think he'd want to. And the last time he talked anything dance related was the last talk he had with anyone in the 40's when crashing a plan and saying goodbye to the love of his life; when he lost all hope of having a normal happy life with a family... That's kinda awkward now that I'm thinking about it; if I asked him that is. And it makes me upset just thinking about what he lost. And damn I know that sounds cheesy.

I finally looked back up at her before shrugging.

"It's going to be a no, Sam" I sigh. "But if it means that much I guess I'll ask real quickly" I mumble; hoping she might not hear it. She smiled.

"Good" she smiled. "Now we need to continue watching; this is my fav episode" She mumbles the last part. I smirk and roll my eyes before looking at the screen. But I felt my smirk fall as I drifted into deep thought.

Oh my god what did I just agree to.

~0~

A couple days later I was sitting at the counter on my phone reading a Fanfiction story for Star Wars.

"Hey Kate" I turned and saw Dad walk out of the elevator. I looked over my shoulder and ended up scrunching my nose slightly when I saw him.

"Hey, why don't you wear your old suit anymore?" I asked; seeing him in his stealth suit. He looked over and gave a bit of a half smirk before heading for the fridge.

"Well," I glanced down at my phone briefly before looking back up at him. "I don't know, missions usually require a quiet and unknown presence so the old one is a bit-" He makes a face; trying to look for the right word.

"Bright? Bold? American?" I laughed. He rolled his eyes. "But this one isn't..." I frown. "Patriotic" I add. He shrugs.

"Well, I'm sure I'll get the old one back soon" He says. I nod and sip from my milkshake to my left.

"Can I go train on the carrier tomorrow night?" I asked. He was still looking in the fridge.

"Don't you have plans?" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Uh no-"

"Sam said you did" He says; glancing over the door. I stop for a moment. Oh! I guess I told him about the sleep over- I don't remember telling him though...

"Oh yeah, I was wondering if she could spend the night" I shrug. "What about before that?" I asked. Clint was going on a mission later that night so he couldn't train with me after 4pm. And I don't know where Natasha was. But I think she was free to help me tomorrow night- Friday obviously.

"And what about that Dance?" He asked. I stopped slurping up the rest of my milkshake. And my eyes shot over to him.

"Uh... What?" I asked in a confused and shaky voice. How the hell does he know about that? I wasn't planning on telling him. Don't judge. I decided against it for his own good of not bringing back some memories... Yes part of it was out of my fear of it being awkward.

"Sam told me about the whole Veteran thing going on tomorrow night" He says; still looking in the fridge. I bit my lip awkwardly.

"I Uh-" I pull my mouth into a thin line before I slowly slurped out more of my milkshake.

"She told me you were going to ask me about it...?" He peaked his head over the fridge door with a smirk. I smile and then drop the smile once he looks back in the fridge.

"I-... I figured you were busy since you- Uh, had a mission" I stutter out. He chuckles.

"Sounds like you're avoiding this" He seemed amused. "You not wanna go?" He asked after pulling some orange juice from the fridge.

I was still biting my lip before I shrugged.

"Um, I dunno" I mumble. "I was gonna go to the carrier to train-"

"Not according to Sam, Kate" He smirks and glances at me as he pours the juice. "She somehow got ahold of my number and asked me if we were meeting them there where this dance is taking place" He says. "So I asked what she was talking about and that led to the whole conversation of what this was about and why you didn't talk to me about it" He smirks. I swallow and drink more of my shake to hide the awkwardness.

"Your mission is tomorrow morning, you'll be gone a while" I change the subject.

"And I'll be back before it" He says. I raise an eyebrow. He seems to be pushing for me to tell Sam I wanna go. I mean, yeah I'd like to. But doesn't it bother him?

"So-" I start; swallowing. "You wanna go?" I ask slowly; confused. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well- yeah I want to" He says like it's obvious. "Why wouldn't I?" He asked. I swallow again awkwardly.

"Well-... the- whole dancing thing... I thought..." I trail off; trying to find the right words. I saw something change in his expression and his eyes trailed down for a spit second. "Yeeaaaahh..." I trail off again.

"Okay... What about it?" He asked; a bit confused. My head shot up at that comment. Excuse me?! Did he just ask that?

"I just figured-... You know, it would bring back some memories-"

"Kate, don't worry about that ok?" He said. "I'm fine, it's ok. I'm asking if you wanna go" He smiles. I blinked a few times. Ok... Well, yeah I guess.

"If you have time then sur-"

"Kate, just don't think about what I'm doing for a second ok?" He chuckled. My eyes shot to the left.

Ok in any other circumstance I would love to go. But as my adopted father it just seems like a lot to put on him. I mean, he's freaking Captain America. I feel like I'm burdening him with this. For numerous reasons. And he's nice to everyone, 1940's traits here. And he wouldn't say no to this even if he despised going.

"I guess" I mumble. I saw his smile drop a bit before nodding. I briefly looked up at him as he looked down. Why did he look sad? Aw damn it I knew it. It's bringing back memories. God, why can't I just have a break?

"Ok" He says; a bit quieter. "You don't have to" He says. I shake my head.

"No I do" I give a quick small smile before looking down at the counter.

"Rogers, I need a hand in the gym" Natasha walked in. He looks over at her before nodding.

"Alright" He says before drinking the rest of his juice and walks for the stairs. He walks past her and into the stairwell.

"Kate?" I quickly turn with a smile.

"Hm?"

"You ok?" She asked softly; looking a bit concerned. I nod and bit my lip.

"Mm hm" I nod.

"...ok" She smiles before following him. I sat by myself quietly for a few seconds; staring at the wall.

This is so complicated.

~0~

Later that night I was sitting in my room drawing. I was starting to get into drawing people and stuff a lot more. I was working on drawing people with heads but the head was just that-... A head- no eyes, hair, or anything. I was working on details after i mastered this.

There was a slight knock and I looked over as Dad poked his head in my room.

"Hey" He spoke up in a bit of a quiet and hesitant voice.

"Hi" I had already looked back down at me sketch book.

"Mind if I come in?"

I shrugged a reply and could hear my door open all the way as he walked over and sat down on the edge of my bed. I merely glanced at him seeing him in his suit and ready to go, helmet on and everything including the shield on his back before he took it off and set in down.

"Leaving early?" I asked, still looking at my sketch book.

"Yeah, need to talk to Fury about a few things so I figured now's as good a time as ever" I shrugs before looking over at me.

"K" I was half paying attention as most of my focus was on the drawing.

"What er you drawing?"

"Turn really quick" I say, not looking up and informing his question.

"Excuse me?" I could hear the confusion and hide my smirk.

"Turn to face me for a sec, I need to check somethin" I explain. He slowly moved slightly to face me as he was still sitting on my bed. I looked at his suit and frowned.

"Damn it, that's what I forgot" I mumble before erasing a bit of my drawing before I fixed it.

"Forgot what?" He asked.

"I'm works on drawing people" I shrug. "And at the moment I'm using you for an example" I laugh and show him. It was pretty much him in his stealth suit but there was no specific face. Just a figure in the stealth suit in an action pose.

"How long did this take you to draw?" He astonished.

"45 minutes" I shrug. "I dunno, just fooling around with a pencil" I mumble before continuing to shade in the suit. It was half done.

"It's really amazing, Kate" He says. I nod in reply as I kept shading. I could see him swallow and look around and I hid my smirk. He's thinking of something to say. "We'll make me look good in that" He finally smirks and nods to the sketch book.

"I shall do my best" I laugh and reply with an accent. He nods before getting up.

"Still wanna go tomorrow night?" He asked with a smile. My smile dropped a bit and my eyes quickly shifted to my sketch book.

"Uh, yeah... Sure"

I could see his shoulders slump slightly before he nodded.

"Alright" I saw Dad force a smile before he picked up his shield got up. He leaned over, kissing the top of my head before giving me a side hug. "I promise I'll be there then ok?"

"K" I give a small smile as he walked out.

"Love you" He smiled. I give a small smile and hesitate to answer.

"Love you too" I finally say quickly and smile before looking back down. It was quiet for several seconds before my door slowly closed and it got dead silent.

I let my head fall against the wall behind my bed frame and let out a rough sigh.

Damn it, why did I say I wanna do it again. He should focus on his mission- not finishing it quickly to make it to this stupid thing tomorrow night.

...

Steve hesitated to let go of the door knob and sighed before letting his head rest against the door. Clenching his jaw he stood there for a moment before standing up straight; letting go of the door knob he walked down the hall, putting his shield on his back as he went.

 **Please review if you liked it :)**

 **Hope this topic won't disappoint. Having a Dad in the Military has led for me to go to these father daughter dances since I was little. Some friends and I still do it to this day XD that's where I got the inspiration to write one like this :)Next chapter will be up really soon. Like an hour or so**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Next chapter! I'm giving you lots of chapters as an early Christmas present! I may not update a lot right after Christmas so I wanna give you these :) This one's a bit short but the next one is long :D**

 **The Next Day...**

I dropped to the ground and rolled to the side before kicking Clint's legs out from under him. He fell to the ground and by the time I got to my feet he was also on his feet and I blocked the three punches he directed at me before I caught his arm and used it as leverage to swing around and knock him off his feet before striking a landing in a roll before jumping to my feet. Clint huffed as he was laying on the ground before looking up at me.

"You're not holding back today" He laughed. I didn't say anything for a moment as he got to his feet.

I was a bit anxious. All the dance crap is kinda making me nervous.

"I dunno" I mumble.

I was getting picked up by Sam and her dad. Dad was still on his mission. I was kinda hoping something might go wrong and then he wouldn't be able to make it tonight... N-Not that I want him getting hurt! I didn't say that, but-... You get what I'm saying.

"You still all antsy about the little Daddy Daughter dance" He gave me a pouty face. I sent a glare at him.

"Shut up about that, I don't wanna talk about it" I growl.

"Hey Kate" I glanced over and saw Natasha walk in. "How'd she do today?" She asked Clint.

"Good, no holdin back from this one" He smirked.

"I'd like to see that" She grinned before coming onto the mats. I crossed my arms and looked down. "Fury's gonna need a hand with some new recruits, why not got help him before you have to leave for your mission" Clint rolled his eyes before nodding.

"Just my luck" He mumbled. Natasha came a bit closer to where I was and dropped her duffle bag off to the side of the mats.

"You ok?" She asked. I nod and roll my eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine" I reply; my voice somewhat short. "Don't know why you guys are so adamant about how I'm feeling today" I mutter and scratch the back of my head.

"Well Kate, you've been acting a bit off" She smirks. I look over at her.

"I'm not acting any different I'm just-, my stomach hurts that's all" I shrug.

"Do you not wanna do this tonight?" She asked. I cross my arms and look down. It was quiet and I didn't speak for a bit.

"No I do" I mumble.

"Then why are you doing everything in your power to avoid it" She chuckles.

"I dunno, I just-..." My voice cut off and I couldn't find the right words. "It's hard to explain" I mutter.

"Is it because of Steve?" She asked slowly. I look over at her.

"Why would it be because of him?" I ask almost defensively.

"Hey, just asking." She holds her hands up. "But by the looks of it, he's the reason you're hesitating" Natasha adds. I don't say anything.

"I-..." Biting my lip I crossed my arms again. "I just don't want to feel weird about it. He's not my biological dad-"

"But he is still your father Kate" Natasha cuts me off slightly. "Family isn't defined by blood you know" She smiles. I sigh and nod.

"Yeah, but... I feel like I'm burdening him with this" I tell her. "And it's not like I have to go, I didn't want to at first and I wasn't going to tell St- Dad about it" I say. I almost called him Steve, oh my god what is happening.

"Why would you be burdening him?" She seemed a bit more concerned and I could also see what looked like pity.

"Because he isn't my dad, and it's awkward for me. I mean- with his past and everything I just thought maybe-" I cut off and huff. Why is it hard for me to open up to people with certain topics? I hate this.

"You're talking about when he crashed the plane aren't you" She says quieter. I hesitate to reply.

After a couple seconds I nod and look down. She nods to the bench a few feet away and we got sit down.

"Kate, you should not let that get in the way of a perfect relationship with your Father" She smiles and emphasizes the word father instead of saying his name directly. "He cares about you so much" She chuckles. "He wouldn't have it any other way" She adds.

That's what I think about sometimes though. Does he ever wish he could have landed the plane and had his life back? With Peggy and a family? I would never in a million years hold that against him, but... that doesn't stop me from wondering. If given the choice what would he choose?

~0~

I glared at Sam for a few more seconds.

"C'mon on Kate- you look amazing in it!" My eyes went down to the dress I was wearing. "If not more amazing than the last time you wore it" She says with a reassuring smile. I bit my lip and refused to look in the mirror.

"Sam I don't know-" I really was starting to regret tonight.

Sam had me come over a bit earlier so she could make me try on dresses. There was one she had-... that I let her borrow a while ago. It was a few days before I was kidnapped to be exact-... she kept it for me and decided I should have it back.

"It doesn't fit" I grumble; finally looking in the mirror.

"Hell yeah it does fit. You look really good in it actually" She mumbles. "I'd say you could pick up some dudes but you're kinda going with your Dad so no one would want to go near you" She started doubling over laughing really hard.

"Haha, yeah. I think his face in general would scare people away" I rolled my eyes. "He's definitely one of those 'over protective dads against their daughters dating' kinda people." I laugh.

"You're definitely right about that" She nods, still laughing. I finally looked back at the mirror and let out a huff.

This is an awkward situation- that's for sure.

"Sam- maybe this is a big mistake-" I start nervously.

"Dude, just shut up! It's going to be fun" She says.

"Yeah but it's so awkward" I argue; looking worried again. "You've been going to these since you were little. I've never even gone to a dance before" I mutter. "You're setting me up for disaster"

"Ok-" She started, she looked very amused. "First off: Relax." She chuckled. "This is your dad were taking about here" She smiles. "It's not like he's some world famous superhero or something" She rolls her eyes. I stopped and glared at her for a long moment.

"Oh-... Right…" She grins. "He is!" She laughed.

"Not helping!" I shouted somewhat playfully.

"Girls, start getting ready ok?" Sam's mom poked her head in the door. "You both look amazing" She smiled, looking back and forth at us. I crossed my arms in a bit of an anxious manner.

"Nervous?" She chuckled. I sigh and give a somewhat wide eyed smile.

"A bit" I mumble.

"Don't kid yourself, you look beautiful Kate" She smiled before walking into the room.

I glanced back at the mirror again, finding myself looking a bit longer than before.

The dress I was wearing was navy blue and knee length, it was off one shoulder and the 'sleeve' flowed down a little past my shoulder but didn't reach my elbow. The dress fitted to my waist and came out open at the bottom near my knees. It wasn't fitted to my legs or anything. There weren't any sparkly things on it- I'm not a fan of sparkly dresses. I like simple.

My brown hair was wavy and my bangs off to the side like they normally are.

Damn it this is getting awkward again. I feel like a burden-... Again.

"Thanks" I smiled before plopping down next to Sam on her bed.

She had a purple dress, almost the same as mine but it had about half inch straps over her shoulders that were somewhat sparkly and a sparkly belt that was about 2 inches thick. It was more of a band going across the waist. It flowed out farther down, about the same as me. Her hair was in a ponytail and her bangs were even across her forehead.

"Ready girls?" Seconds later her Dad poked her head in. Sam nodded and pulled me out of her room as i grumbled under my breath.

~0~

"And what about this here?" Coulson asked; pointing to the paperwork. Steve was somewhat impatiently taping his finger against his hand as he was standing in front of a desk as Agent Coulson was going over the mission details her just got back from. He had his hands at rest in front of him; his right over his left.

"Those are from the dealer" Steve explained quickly, his eyes shooting over to the clock. "There weren't copies so I grabbed whatever i could find" He explains before bringing his eyes over to Coulson- who had noticed him staring at the clock every few seconds.

"You have somewhere to be?" Coulson was eyeing him now. Steve looked at him for a moment and opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself.

"It's nothing, I just-" Steve looked back at the clock and then quickly back at Coulson. "Really need to speed this up" He mumbles quickly.

"Am I pushing if I ask what this is about?" He smirked. Steve hesitated before shrugging.

"Well-... Ok, there's this thing tonight that I'm going to with Kate" He says. "For men in uniform, it's a father daughter dance" He explains, keeping his eyes down before his went up to meet Coulson's. "Don't give me that look" Steve starts; seeing the grin that immediately crept onto Coulson's face. He put his hands up in a surrendering motion before he looked down at the files.

"When do you need to be there?" Coulson asked.

"34 minutes" Steve answered immediately with no expression. Coulson smirked at his quick and accurate reply.

"So if I'm correct. You still have to finish going over the evidence with me, go down for a debrief and finish filing the reports on some new recruits..." Coulson looks up at him. Steve hesitates, his eyes still on the ground before nodding.

"Yes sir"

"And you still think you're somehow going to make it to this tonight?" He asked; looking confused. Steve looked up at him and didn't say anything.

"If I need to, I have no problem just leaving" He finally states in a serious tone. Coulson smirked before nodding. He was quiet for several seconds.

"Tell you what- I'll ask the other agents that went on the mission with you about the evidence. I'll ask Agent Hill if she can go over the new recruit files and tomorrow you can do your debrief" Coulson sighs. Steve was quiet for a second.

"Wait- you're serious?" He furrowed his eyebrows. The agent gave a nod.

"Don't make me regret this" Coulson mumbled with a smirk. Steve gave a smirk back and nodded before quickly picking up his shield that was leaning against the desk. Putting it on his back he picked up his helmet that was sitting on the desk before hurrying out.

"Wait- hold on" Coulson started. Steve stopped and turned. "What er you gonna wear?" He asked. Steve furrowed his eyebrows before his eyes shot down to what he had on- his stealth suit.

"Oh-... Uh," He started.

"I've heard these dances you're talking about. The men wear their military dress uniforms" Coulson explains.

"Crap" Steve muttered, thinking back to the last time he wore his military uniform was back in the 40's and was probably in some packed up crate within SHIELD.

"We have your uniform. It's still in good condition if you need it" Coulson spoke up again.

"As a matter a fact I do, like right now" Steve said quickly. Coulson gave a nod before getting up. Steve followed him out of the room somewhat quickly.

 **Hope you liked it :) The next one will also be up later today if not- tomorrow morning. Please tell me if this is ok, if not I can just take it down and write a different one shot.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Long chapter ahead, I hope you like it :)**

"Juice?" My eyes shot to the left at Sam who was slurping from her cup of juice as she was holding one out to me. I huffed and rolled my eyes... Then I thought again.

"Yes" I mumble quickly as I took it and started to guzzle the punch. "It's freezing"

"You're telling me" She laughs, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, the cup still in hand.

"Your dad still coming Kate?" Sam's dad walked over to me in his Air Force dress uniform.

I opened my mouth to speak but hesitate to answer.

"I think so" I smile quickly. He nods before another soldier walked up and started talking to him. They quickly got lost in conversation before walking away.

"Hey I'm still bunking over at your place right?" She asked. I nod in reply before sipping my drink again. Seconds later I looked down into the cup, seeing it was empty. I huff and look around for the drink table.

"I'm out of juice, I'll be right back" I mumble. She nods as I walked away. Slipping by a few people I found the area with tables of drinks and food.

Tossing the cup in the trash I made my way to the drinks and looked around for the spare cups.

"Looking for these?" My head shot up and I looked across the table seeing Caleb holding a pitcher along with several spare cups sitting on the table next to him.

"Oh my god- Wha-... What are you doing here?!" I laughed, running around the table to hug him. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and he gave me a hug back.

"You know my Dad, he still loves taking Abby to these dances" He laughs as we pulled out of the hug. "I'm actually helping out with the food and drinks. Fun." We both ended up laughing. He was wearing him Army dress uniform like the other soldiers here. Oh- and Abby was his younger sister, she was 10 years old or so.

"Why did you come here though? I thought you guys were down at Fort Detrick" He nods before looking around briefly. Fort Detrick was a Military base in MD.

"We both were moved up to New York for a few months and this was the only place we could find that still did a dance for those in uniform" He smiles and I nod. "What er you doing here?" His brows furrowed slightly. My eyes widened just barely.

"Oh- Uh, I'm here with my Da-Guar-, Steve-..." I blurt out before giving a nervous smile. He laughs and nods, a bit confused.

"You're a lot closer to him now then...?"

"Yeah, a lot of time has gone by- I do call him Dad now..." I say a bit quieter.

"Hey- that's good, you're moving on. I'm happy for you" His smile made me relax a bit more before I nodded. "Where is he?"

"Uh, he had a mission so he's meeting us here. I came with Sam and her Dad" I explain before my eyes went over the room around me. He nods before looking to the side when I heard someone call his name.

"I gotta go" Caleb looked back over at me. "Really good seeing you again, Kate" He smiled. "We'll have to catch up some more" He laughs.

"Definitely" I smiled. "Tell Abby I said hi" I chuckle. He chuckles with a nod and smiled at me before walking away.

After grabbing my juice I walked back over to where Sam was, sitting in a chair. Sitting down next to her I let myself slouch back and closed my eyes.

~0~

Steve hurried off the quinjet as it landed on the roof of the Tower before he hurried inside. Taking the elevator down to the communal floor he waited for the door to open before he ran to the counter and grabbed his motorcycle keys.

"Running a little late aren't we Cap?" Steve turned and saw Natasha sitting in the arm chair reading a book. It was dimly lit in the room and only a small table night was on besides from the lights in the kitchen.

"Maybe a bit" He sighed before trying to tie his tie that was untied around his neck. "It's been a long day" He mumbled before frowning as he tried to tie his tie and failed again.

Natasha walked over a few seconds later and turned him to face her before she started to tie the tie for him.

"Kate know you're coming?"

"Of course, I told her I would be there" He says, looking down at her. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason" She sighed before shrugging. "She's just been acting a little off lately"

"You're telling me" He let out a sharp laugh before looking down. Natasha finished with his tie and stepped back before sitting down on one of the kitchen stools. He tucked his tie into his jacket before looking back over at her.

"Has she talked to you at all?" She asked hesitantly. Steve looked at her for a moment, eyeing her for several seconds.

"...No, not really" He finally looks down. "She's actually been keeping her distance from me the last couple days, seems kinda distant"

"But do you know why?" Natasha continued. Steve hesitated his answer, thinking for a moment.

"Well she did mention about the whole dancing thing yesterday-?"

"No I mean why she's been avoiding you" His brow furrowed at that and he didn't say anything for a moment. Natasha took that as a clueless expression and continued.

"I wouldn't tell her I told you this, but she was talking to me a couple days ago and was saying how she feels like a burden on you-"

"A _burden_?" Steve asked, almost in disbelief and blinked a few times. An almost hurt look crossed his face.

"And that she doesn't want to feel like she's getting in the way of the life you want to have. Whether it's as a SHIELD agent or an Avenger. I know how hard that can be on someone her age. Especially now that you're constantly on missions." She explained further. "I'm not trying to get into this like you think I am. I know this topic is something specifically between you and her..." Natasha added. "...but, if I was Kate. I think the question I would be asking myself would be what kind of life you would prefer" She adds a bit quieter.

Steve looked somewhat concerned and confused. He didn't know exactly how to react. He'd always thought Kate was happy- but he had no idea that she ever thought he was unhappy with having her as an adopted child.

"And by that you mean..." He trailed off.

"One here in the 21st century or one back-" Natasha didn't finish as Steve caught on.

"One back in the 40's" He finished.

"I know she's familiar with what happened. And of course she knows your history. So I think that's what she's really focusing on at the moment" She shrugs slightly. "Not trying to push-, but I kinda am" She ends up smirking slightly. Steve gave a small nod, his eyes on the floor as his mood seemed to have dropped several notches and he looked lost in thought.

"I'm gonna clear the air then" He says determinedly and looks back up at Natasha. She gave a nod and smiled. Steve gave a nod back before his eyes casually shifted to look at the clock.

"Damn it-" He muttered before running for the door.

"Language Cap'n" Natasha smirked. Steve rolled his eyes as he got into the elevator.

~0~

My eyes were locked in a deadly glare on my phone screen as I looked at the Angry Birds level that I couldn't get past.

It was annoying the hell out of me.

I finally gave up and put my phone on the nearby table next to Sam's bag. I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees as chin was on my fists.

I couldn't stop thinking about this whole thing. I really, _really,_ **really** freaking loved having Steve as a Dad, but I just don't want to put too much pressure on him. I mean, he was kinda forced into the whole adopting me thing way back when. Even though everyone said they were all adopting me I knew what him being my guardian meant- he didn't.

I just don't want him to fully regret ever adopting me. Although I can't hold it against him, I know it's a big responsibility while also am having the weight of the world constantly on your shoulders.

Suddenly someone cleared there throat from my right and I jumped- literally out of my thoughts and turned to see Dad leaning on the table someone behind me but to the side with a smile.

"Oh uh, you made it" I chuckle somewhat nervously. What the hell. Why are you freaking out over this it's not weird or anything- hopefully no one will notice him here, he'd probably want to keep a low profile.

"Hey, I promised I'd make it" He makes clear, still giving a warm smile. "Wouldn't miss this for the world" He chuckled. My face dropped at that comment and I swallowed hard and gave a nervous laugh.

"Well that seems like a little much" I laugh back before standing up. I looked at him for a moment. "Where'd you find that?" I laugh. He looked down at what he was wearing.

"Oh, Coulson dug it out of storage for me" He smiled.

"Don't think anyone would notice you wearing a military dress uniform used during the 1940's?" I scrunched my nose in confusion and laughed, feeling myself relax a bit. He rolled his eyes before shrugging.

"I'm sure if they asked I could answer honestly" He looked back down at me and my smile dropped again. He's asked honestly?

"Kate get over here!" I looked to the side and saw Sam with her Dad and several other Fathers and Daughters in an area of the big room. "We need to complete our little group!"

"Yeah ok" I roll my eyes before looking back at Dad seeing him just staring at me. I blinked before raising an eyebrow. "What?" I then furrowed my eyebrows. I immediately recognized the look on his face, but it was hard to describe.

"You look beautiful" He smiled. I stared at him for a moment before forcing a small smile.

"Thanks Dad" I say quietly.

"Kate!"

"What?!" I yelled, looking at her. She waved a hand for us to come over. I rolled my eyes before looking back at him.

"She's gonna bite my head off again so let's just go over there" I finally mumble before he nodded and we started walking over. As we were weaving in and out of the crowd he side hugged me before kissing the top of my head.

"You know you might wanna hide that look of yours" He whispers.

"What look?" My eyes shifted over to him with confusion.

"You know what look, you have that -I'm gonna hurt someone- look" He laughed a bit. I roll my eyes before nodding.

"K"

"There, now we're complete!" Sam shouted with excitement. I saw the other Military Dads' eyes shift over to my Dad and I swallowed nervously, seeing how they immediately looked at his uniform.

"Your uniform seems to be a little outdated" One of them spoke up. I swallowed hard again before looking at Dad who smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it definitely is. Captain Steven Rogers" He held out a hand. My eyes shot to him. He's actually telling them who he is!?

Their faces soon became surprised and I could tell they knew exactly who he was now. It was quiet before the soldier who had spoken up stepped forward.

"It's an honor, Captain" He shook his hand. Sooner or later Dad managed to shake the several hands in our little group and Caleb's dad came over too.

"Your dad seems to fit in here" Sam laughed. I rolled my eyes and looked back over as he turned to me.

"Who's this?" One of them asked. Dad smiled before looking down at me.

"I'm his ado-"

"Daughter" Dad cut me off and smiled at them. They all smiled and nodded before looking at me again.

"I'm adopted" I explain further quickly. Some of their expressions changed but they all still smiled and nodded and Dad shot me a bit of an annoyed look. I tried not to look confused as some music started playing and everyone seemed to split up.

"Let's go guys" Sam smiled and Dad nodded before we followed them. We walked out and everyone was about 3 feet apart before we quickly picked up the dance. After I put a hand on his shoulder and he put one on my waist, I held his other hand before we started the dance that was going on. I looked at the far wall as the door was pushed open and cold air blew in.

"Ok what was that look for?" I spoke up, finally looking up at him. "You mad I said I was adopted?" Dad sighed before looking down at me.

"Well you know Kate, you don't have to say that every time I introduce you to someone" He says flatly.

"It's the truth" I shot back.

"Well I really wish it wasn't sometimes!" He shot right back. My eyes flashed a hurt look and I looked at him for a moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked quietly but still somewhat demanding. Is he really admitting to it now? Finally? After everything? Why couldn't he have just said it when he first adopted me that he didn't want me?!

"I really wish most of the time that you were my biological daughter, Kate" He says.

"Well guess what?! I-..." I cut off at what he said and stared at him when I realized what he had said. "Wait-" I couldn't hold in the shocked face as I stared at him wide eyed. "Hold the freaking phone- you mean that you don't find the whole adoption thing a big mistake?!" I blurted out. What the hell?! I swear he made it seem like he didn't like this whole -having an adopted kid to look after- thing!

"No, of course not" He shook his head and actually looked a little hurt himself. "I actually wanted to clear the air about this whole conversation," he continues. "I know that you're convinced I find you a burden"

I tensed and my eyes shot down. What the hell- how does he know about that?

"I know that you think I find my job and Avenging more important than taking care of you, and I know you don't want to get in the way of what makes me happy" I refused to look at him before continued. "Kate, you make me happy" He says quietly. I could feel my eyes burn and tear up as I continued to not look at him. "I would give the world if it meant getting you as my daughter, even if it's not biologically" He laughed a bit.

I didn't want to look at him. How could he mean that? The world?! It's a hell of a lot more important than I am. I've made it a worse place to live if anything with my stupid ability.

"Kate," He lowered his head to look at me. I finally met his eyes and felt my eyes water more. "I never regretted a day in my life crashing that plane into the Arctic and I'm not regretting it now" He makes clear. "You're the best thing I could ever wish for and I'd never give you up for anything" He was almost as emotional as I was damn it. This is really not how I pictured this night going.

I sniffled in a breath and felt a tear quickly slip before I scrambled to hug him and he tightly hugged me back.

"I love you Dad" My voice was brittle as I spoke and I hid my face with my hair against his uniform.

"I love you too Kate" His voice was brittle too and it sounded like he was really emotional now. Tears were really starting to slip from my eyes now and I quickly blinked them away.

"You talked to Natasha didn't you?" I mumble against his chest.

"Hm?"

"Natasha, you must've talked to her, because you covered everything I've been thinking about the last week" I smile and look up at him with a small laugh, still teary-eyed.

"Maybe I did" He says slowly and smiles before using his hand to wipe away the tear that had slipped from my eye. "Doesn't matter though cause no matter what- you know everything I just said was true, right?" His smile grew. I laugh a bit and nod before sniffling a breath. "Good" He let out a small breath and hugged me again. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Eh hem" Someone cleared there throat and I peeked around Dad's arm to see Sam smiling very big. I sent her a warning look.

"Love the bonding stuff goin on here" She smiled. Dad smirked and look from me to her. "But dancing is supposed to be the reason we're here so gets it movin!" She laughed and ran back over to her Dad. I rolled my eyes and heard Dad chuckle a bit before I stepped back from him. Putting a hand back on his shoulder, he put his hand on my waist before I held his other hand and we went back to dancing again.

"I didn't know you could dance" I laugh.

"I didn't either" He admits before we both started laughing. "What about you? I had no idea you liked to dance"

"I don't" I admit, I've never been to one but me and my brother would fool around and put on these little dances for family" I rolled my eyes and got a bit red in the face. "I was weird when I was little"

"No, you were adorable" He adds with a laugh. I rolled my eyes before thinking for a moment.

"Dad, I'm sorry if I made you feel different about all this" I finally say quietly. I saw his eyebrows furrow slightly.

"Feel different about what"

"How every time you introduced me to someone I would always make sure to say I was adopted. I hope you don't think I said it to make clear I wasn't your daughter or that I was embarrassed or something"

"Kate, I don't-"

"But I just thought you wouldn't want to have it come off like that because to some people- someone like you having a daughter with no other- like, relationship on your part might seem a bit weird to some people so I figured every time you'd want people to know I was actually adopted and not some kid that was dumped on you after you left someone or something like that-" I said quickly and stuttered a bit before finishing an taking in a breath. He looked at me for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Kate, I could care less about what other people think" He says. "They can say or think whatever they'd like but it won't change the fact that I consider you to be my daughter" He seemed amused and smiled. I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling ear to ear and just nodded. "Meaning when people ask about me being your guardian of Dad or whatever you can tell them whatever you feel comfortable with"

"So you're saying I can go around telling people Captain America is my dad?" I asked excitedly and laugh. He laughs and rolls his eyes.

"Uh, let's hold off on telling everyone that" He smirked. I nod and smile before looking over at Sam who was with her Dad. She smiled at me and I gave a smile back before I hugged Dad. He smiled and hugged me tightly as I listened to the soft music playing in the background.

"Dad?" I spoke up quietly.

"Hm?" He hummed and leaned back, still hugging me so he could look at me.

"I love you" I whisper and give him a big smile. He smiled and gently tucked the strand of hair behind my ear before kissing my forehead and pulled my head closer in a hug as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Love you more"

 _The End_

 **Hope you guys liked it. Please review if you'd like to give requests for a one shot for this story or another story I've done. Or if you just like reviewing, doesn't matter. Merry Christmas**


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